Food coloring linked to ADHD? Ditch those gummy bears

Are these colorful bears causing ADHD in some kids?

/ istockphoto

(CBS/AP) If you are worried about your child and ADHD, it might be time to ditch the gummy bears and other colorful treats.

This week an FDA advisory panel will decide whether available data links artificial food dyes and the disorder. The results could lead to new warning labels on foods that kids love, such as Jello, sugared cereals, and even macaroni and cheese.

The government previously ruled that there is no proven relationship between food dyes and hyperactivity in most children. And the panel is unlikely to ban the petroleum-based dyes in question, such as Yellow 5, Red 40 and six others.

But consumer advocates and a growing body of scientists say evidence is mounting that processed foods - including those with artificial dyes - may play a role in the inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity that characterize attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"Food is the main cause of ADHD," researcher Lidy Pelsser told NPR earlier this month.

Pelsser led a Norwegian team which found that more than 60 percent of kids diagnosed with ADHD were actually experiencing a hypersensitivity to certain processed foods. The team found that a 5-week diet that worked to figure out which foods were causing the problem produced astounding results.

"After the diet, they were just normal children with normal behavior," Pelsser told NPR. Their work, which didn't single out artificial food coloring and wasn't effective for all children, was published in the Lancet.

The FDA's recent attentiveness to the issue stems from a 2008 petition by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which asked the government to ban synthetic food dyes. "It is medically and ethically unwise to burden hyperactive children and their parents with concerns about foods with synthetic dyes," they wrote.

Naturally, food manufacturers disagree. "All of the major safety bodies globally have reviewed the available science and have determined that there is no demonstrable link between artificial food colors and hyperactivity among children," the Grocery Manufacturers Association said in a statement, according to the New York Times.

9 Photos

ADHD: Are these 8 food dyes to blame?

[foodlve]

Hi
Thank you for nice article

[uofmythbuster]

The article "Food coloring linked to ADHD? Ditch those bears" presents an argument that is flawed. Implying that food additives are the sole cause of ADHD is not only incorrect , it also gives false hope to individuals and families that are affected by the disease concerning effective treatments. The statement "Food is the main cause of ADHD" is deceptive. Diet is one of many factors that may trigger the onset of ADHD. Genetic factors, complications during delivery, maternal health status during pregnancy and family environment all play roles in the development of ADHD. The exact biological pathways leading to the development ADHD are not fully understood therefore our understanding of the roles that artificial food dyes may play in the pathway leading to the onset of this disease is speculative at best. While there are studies that report a possible positive correlation between the consumption of certain artificial dyes and the level of hyperactivity, the results tend to be inconsistent due to the genetic differences between individuals .It is misleading to place such a great amount of emphasis on the link between consuming artificial food dyes and ADHD symptoms when diet is just one of the many potential causes of this disease which is still not fully understood.

[Granny707]

30+ years ago my son was bouncing off the walls. The medical doctors wanted to put him on drugs and I refused. I changed his diet and within 2 weeks he was a completly different child thanks to our chiropractor who suggested removing all food dyes, preservatives, white flour and white sugar from his diet. Yes it was a tremendious amount of work preparing only foods from scratch for my kids but the effort was worth it. Anyone who does not believe that what they themselves eat and what they feed their children doesn't matter is very foolish.

P.S. has anyone ever seen a cow that gives orange milk? Yet a lot of the cheese we buy is a lovely shade of orange. Think about it - it's everywhere!

[KristinFromMN]

Are you people that ignorant to ignore that the article and other studies are NOT saying that food coloring causes ADHD, but it causes ADHD like symptoms and aggravates children with existing ADHD.

[USMC-Mom]

Dyes have nothing to do with it. I went through this wit my son and taking dyed foor/ red out of his diet did nothing. Worse it was the teachers without any medical training who said he was ADHD. The doctor did not agree but tried him on meds. It didn't help. HTe doctor refused to give him anymore because he felt it was all due to lazy teacher. Once he fit 8th grade he was fine. Try getting the kids outside to run off energy it makes a huge differnce. Keeping kids in from 8-3 is why they have too much energy in class. i'm not saying some kids don't have the problem but too many are puton med for no good reason.

[cdimice]

Seriously over twenty years ago people were complaining about DYES in food products where they didn't need to be.... processed foods and food with additives are unhealthy and harming everyone.... and not everyone who is hyperactive comes by it genetically, we are what we eat...
In my day, you never saw a kid with 'nut' allergies.... it just didn't happen...

They've been poisoning us for decades... and we let them....

[mitch0927]

ADHD is a joke. It is caused by doctors telling parents that their kids need to take mind numbing drugs because the parents used video games and VCR's as their baby sitters. Now with computers and Internet, it is only getting worse. Parents need to get off of their rumps and be a part of their childrens lives and quit depending on outside stimuli to raise their kids.

[bovinegod]

I have ADHD. i was diagnosed at age 6. im not going to bother mentioning that brain development is a result of both genetics and environment
(pre-and post-natal), because you already know that. I also don't feel the need to mention that my childhood was spent playing with my mother going all kinds of places like hiking and camping, soccer, gymnastics, vocal choir, parades, "nights out", and such, or the fact that i didn't even play video games until i reached high school.
You obviously have a doctorate in biochemistry and physics.
not.
shut up, because you don't know *** your talking about.

[kstategal]

You, sir, do NOT know what you are talking about. My son has ADHD -- I rarely let him watch TV or play computer games because he has ADHD and I don't want the extra stimuli. His ADHD is a result of a brain injury at birth and drug use by his birthmother during her pregnancy. Cap that off with a genetic history from his birthfather and my kid gets the diagnosis. It is a true, debilitating disorder for my child and many others. I have gone to great lengths to help this child and you insinuating that ADHD is due to lazy parenting is completely insulting. Get all the facts before you spew your uneducated opinion.

[adhdlady]

I have ADHD. I was diagnosed as a child & still have it as a grown up. I think it being linked to food dye is ridiculous! We didn't have a lot of dyed foods growing up & I certainly don't eat much of it now! I have it due to genetics so don't feed me the line that cutting out food dyed will make me "normal" becuase that has nothing to do with it.

If food dye affects you, you probably have some kind of sensitivity to it (I know people allergic to the stuff).

[JAinCA2010]

My son, now 23, suffered from ADHD as a child. The medical system, in service of the educational system that only rewards quiet conformity, was quick to medicate him and it was only later through my own observations that I discovered the link between food coloring and his hyperactivity. (This extended even to such things as artificially dyed Kleenex, something we no longer see for sale.)

Why does our government allow manufacturers to add artificial coloring to absolutely EVERYTHING from cat food to shampoo? Do we REALLY need green oreos for St. Patrick's Day? Do antibiotic suspensions for very young children HAVE to have red food coloring?

Personally, I am furious that the federal government is only NOW dealing with this serious issue. My son was placed on powerful drugs and even with a special education classification was often made to feel like a "bad child" who couldn't control himself when the real culprit was corporate America and its unending quest to make a buck any way it can and our worthless FDA that goes along quietly. To everyone with children, go organic as much as possible, it's the only way.

[or30313]

@JAinCA2010,

Yeah right. Of course, your son's ADHD had nothing to do with the way your raised your kid. Of course, it's all the medical system, the education system, and food dyes that caused all your kid's problems.

Why not spend some time looking in the mirror and looking at how permissive parenting, a victimhood mentality, and a lack of personal accountability affected your kid's behavior?

Even if food dyes have a minor effect on a kid's behavior, parenting is a million times more important. Then again, it's much easier to blame the establishment and food additives than it is to blame yourself.